The Village Voice’s Runnin Scared blog reported on the new community-led report by VOCAL-NY’s Users Union about challenges facing methadone patients and our recommendations for addressing them.

City’s Methadone Clinics Plagued With Problems, New Report Says

By Graham Rayman | Oct. 12 2011

​The state funded methadone clinics in New York City are poorly managed, inadequately equipped, and don’t provide necessary
services to keep recovering addicts from relapsing, according to a new report released today. The report also discloses a campaign of police harassment outside the clinics.

New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services oversee a network of clinics, known formally as Opioid Treatment Programs, which are run by private non-profits under government contract. In all, about 30,000 city residents use the clinics.

Based on surveys of 500 clinic users, the report “Beyond Methadone” concludes that many said they never received instructions on how to prevent overdoses, even though accidental overdose in a leading cause of emergency room visits. Nor did they receive screening for the Hepatitis C virus, which is often transferred via shared needles, nor were they given information about alternate forms of treatment for the addiction.